LUDHIANA/MUMBAI: A Ludhiana police team, sent to Mumbai following a court order to arrest actor Rakhi Sawant for allegedly making derogatory statements against Maharishi Valmiki during a 2016 TV show, failed to locate her on Tuesday.

An assistant sub-inspector and a woman head constable from Ludhiana reached Mumbai on Monday and visited a few spots in Oshiwara where the actor owns a flat, but failed to locate her. The team left for Ludhiana on Tuesday.

We did not arrest Sawant,” Dharuman Nimbale, deputy commissioner of police (Ludhiana), told TOI on Tuesday. The police will submit a report before the court during the next hearing on April 10, he added.

Amandeep Singh Brar, assistant commissioner of police (Ludhiana central), said, “The property in Oshiwara, Mumbai, is owned by the actor. However, she does not live there. The police team has taken statements of the neighbours that will be submitted before the court during the next hearing. Further action would be taken as per court orders.”

A Ludhiana court had issued an arrest warrant against the actor on March 9 after she failed to appear before it following a petition filed by advocate Narinder Adiya in July 2016 over the alleged derogatory remarks.

atyanarayan Chaudhary, Mumbai deputy commissioner of police (Zone IX), said the actor no longer stays in his jurisdiction that falls between Bandra and Andheri in the western suburbs. “The actor has a flat in the Oshiwara locality of Andheri. However, the flat is rented out and she does not live in it. Also, we don’t know of any team that has sought help to track her down on Tuesday,” said an Oshiwara police officer.

The court had earlier summoned the actor, but she did not turn up. Later, it issued bailable warrants but she failed to appear before it. Following this, the court issued a non-bailable warrant against her. She was also booked in Jalandhar under Indian Penal Code Section 295A for hurting religious sentiments

According to reports, a local court in Ludhiana had issued the arrest warrant against Rakhi on 9 March on the basis of a complaint filed against the actor for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of the Valmiki community on video last year. Rakhi had later apologised for her comment via a video clip in which she stated that it was not her intention to hurt anybody.

It was also reported that Rakhi had failed to appear before the court despite the court issuing her repeated summons during the last hearing in March. The case against Rakhi Sawant is now scheduled for 10 April.

This is apparently the video clip in which Rakhi called Valmiki a “murderer”, which caused the outrage amongst the Valmiki community:

Rakhi Sawant is best known for appearances in reality TV shows like Bigg Boss and Rakhi Ka Swayamwar. She has also acted in many Bollywood films but her outrageous comments have often drawn more attention.

In 2014, Rakhi Sawant tried her hand at politics and contested the general elections from the Mumbai North West constituency as an Independent candidate.